Worst Ivy School

College Search & Lists
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<p>Everyone has their biases, but I don’t think I’m anti-Brown all the time. The OP is asking between Penn and Brown; I think Penn is the better choice. If the OP was asking between JHU and Brown, or CMU and Brown, or even Cornell and Brown, I’d say Brown. I just think that as a whole, most Ivies are better than Brown.</p>

<p>“1) Brown’s undergrad program is known for its relative strength in humanities that favor pre-law students: English Lit, History, Classics, IR etc.”</p>

<p>Yes, and Penn also has very strong English and History programs. I don’t think the difference is that big.</p>

<p>“2) Penn’s law school isn’t in the Top 5,
(Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, NYU)”</p>

<p>You’re right…it’s usually ranked 6-8 though. Not bad considering the competition, and some of the schools it frequently beats out (Duke, UVa, Georgetown, Chicago).</p>

<p>"Comparing Brown vs. Penn grads (bearing in mind that Penn graduates DOUBLE the undergrads that Brown does in any given year)</p>

<p>Harvard Law ('05-'06):
Brown grads: 51
Penn grads: 53"</p>

<p>Like I said, Penn Law is known to take lots of its own. Besides, that is just one number that has many factors affecting it.</p>

<p>Pro-(insert school) should not be read as anti-Brown.</p>

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<p>Do your parents also realize that college rankings, especially those of USNWR, fluctuate? Penn used to have a pretty bad rep in the 80s-90s. It’s recently shot to the top of the USNWR list. Who knows what will happen when you’re graduating from college, or ten years from now, or even beyond that?</p>

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Yeah, since they BRIBED them. </p>

<p>Would your parents let you go to a school that is ranked less, but is academically better or a school that exploits the rankings and, for the most part, worse academically?</p>

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<p>Well, let’s consider that statement for a moment.</p>

<p>HYP are clearly in the top tier - universally accepted.</p>

<p>That leaves 4 Ivy schools.</p>

<p>If you are one of those four (which Brown and Penn are) then that leaves you THREE schools to compare to.</p>

<p>If even ONE of those three are better than Brown or Penn, than the statement “most Ivies are better than [insert Brown or Penn]” = TRUE.</p>

<p>So… what’s your point?</p>

<p>Next, I never said, Brown is leaps and bounds a better choice than Penn. In fact, if I recall, I started my analysis by stating that from an academic perspective they are peers.</p>

<p>Then, I laid out my pros and cons for both.</p>

<p>Just because you are a Penn fanatic, you should try and be a little more objective. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Penn alum (albeit grad school rather than undergrad) and I have no problem pointing out where other schools may have certain strengths relative to another.</p>

<p>Are you suggesting that Penn beats out Brown in every single facet / comparison possible? If that’s the case, then I’d like to see you back that up.</p>

<p>The reality is: Penn is better than Brown in some areas, and Brown is better than Penn in other areas.</p>

<p>I don’t accept a flat-out statement that one is WHOLLY better than the other - they are PEERS.</p>

<p>It’s so funny that the ONE thing I mention - that Brown may be better for pre-law candidates - YOU JUMP ON THAT ONE POINT and blow it all out of proportion.</p>

<p>Relax. </p>

<p>They are both great schools anyone should be proud to attend. But that said, both have their own inherent strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t acknowledge that much - then my respect for you would drop like a stone.</p>

<p>Finally, if you are a such a Penn fanatic, and you KNOW its the best thing since sliced bread, why the insecurity? Why the lack of confidence? </p>

<p>Have some confidence dude, Penn is great.</p>

<p>I am a proud Penn alum - but just because someone chooses HBS or Stanford over Wharton doesn’t bother me a single bit - I KNOW Wharton is one of the best business schools in the world.</p>

<p>I mean, you don’t see Harvard grads running around complaining about being No. 2 in USNWR in any given random year - they KNOW they are good.</p>

<p>As an analogy, a guy who owns a Porsche doesn’t get all hot, bothered and jealous when someone raves about a Ferrari - they are both great auto makers.</p>

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<p>“Just because you are a Penn fanatic, you should try and be a little more objective. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Penn alum (albeit grad school rather than undergrad) and I have no problem pointing out where other schools may have certain strengths relative to another.” </p>

<p>Christ, maybe you should come to the Penn board. I was left to fend for myself when I recommended that someone choose Princeton over Penn. It’s basically three pages of me defending myself against various posters. There was another recent post in the S&S section where someone was deciding between JHU, Chicago and Penn, and I recommended that they go to JHU or Chicago. I’m objective; you just jump on my Brown posts and make me out to be some sort of Penn-recommending monster. It’s ridiculous–do you think that ALL of my 1700 posts are busy trashing Brown or extolling the virtues of Penn above all else?</p>

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<p>Apologies then.</p>

<p>I only know you from the General board (I only post here and the MBA board).</p>

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<p>As an aside, </p>

<p>this entire thread, “Worst” Ivy, is a lesson in oxymorons.</p>

<p>what’s next?</p>

<p>“Poorest Billionaire”?</p>

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<p>I agree. This thread is pretty lame.</p>

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<p>40% of Penn’s student body is in Wharton/SEAS/Nursing, and few of those people seek law school. That’s why the WSJ ranking is biased against Penn, which has a large pre-professional body that Brown does not.</p>

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<p>Dartmouth grad here: Penn and Brown are totally, unequivocally equal in the end. Are you going to choose between and Audi or a BMW because one might ARGUABLY have one extra horsepower? No, you’ll choose based on what your personal style, i.e. “fit” is.</p>

<p>That said, I’d choose Brown over Penn because I like East Providence much more than West Philly, and because I like the laid back culture of the place and the smaller size. I know plenty who would choose the opposite, and plenty of people who would agree with me.</p>

<p>Go where your heart is and forget comparing these two.</p>

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<p>

Brown is ranked higher in the NBER Revealed Preference study, which is more objective than the USNews study. As far as prestige, Brown is right below Princeton.</p>

<p>.</p>

<p>.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the comments from your guys. Personally, prestige is only 5% factor in my Brown vs Upenn decision. So i’m not a person stuck up in the prestige factor. But rather, my point was that i want to study business for sure but it’s just that I have many other fields i want to explore as well and I feel that Brown would give me a better opportunity to discovery other paths. But Wharton is so hard to turn down when I know i’m want to study business for sure… u know what i mean?</p>

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<p>Yeah, you’re right. It’s hard to turn down Wharton if you know you really want to major in Business. If you’re 100% sure, I say go to Wharton, and try to squeeze in some liberal arts electives while you’re there.</p>

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<p>There is no question about the stupidity of this thread. My question is when an acceptee says he’s accepted to all “lower ivys”, asks which one is the worst, so he can decide where to attend, with an attitude like that, why was he admitted in the first place ?</p>

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<p>

…Ivy_Grad</p>

<p>It should be 5 Ivies. I expect an Ivy Grad can count.</p>

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<p>God…you guys have beaten one point senseless…Dumb topic! I concede…It’s like beating a dead horse.</p>

<p>I was trying to make people reveal their hidden prejudices in hopes of getting a “general”, “popular” opinion. I’m sorry…Next topic! Nobel Prize winning physicists: which ones are really dumb!?</p>

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<p>Absolutely correct.</p>

<p>My bad.</p>

<p>btw, does anyone else on this board get more nitpicked than I do? Just curious.</p>

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<p>Brown, Cornell, Penn, Columbia, and Dartmouth are pretty much equal. They all have different strengths (like Wharton and Cornell engineering). The quality of the students is equal at all of those schools, despite what any of you might think.</p>

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<p>There are no bad Ivies. different ones are good for different people.</p>

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<p>I’d go with Penn.</p>

<p>Why?</p>

<p>Brown has a very unique, one-of-a-kind culture. It’s not for everybody.</p>

<p>Penn is larger, but doesn’t really have an all-encompassing culture.</p>

<p>If you choose Brown, you may not be comfortable with the school culture. You can’t go wrong with Penn, because there will be a good mix of people and you will always be able to find your niche there. Since you’re not going to have a chance to visit both schools and get a feel for them, Penn would be the more reasonable choice.</p>

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<p>You know that things are certainly ridiculous when a post like this is make, with no tongue-in-cheek. The academic distance between some Ivies and other fine colleges in not always far, but reading words in this thread like “tier 3” and “lesser Ivy” nearly made me gag. What rot.</p>